Trouble in Paradise
by Brennanite47
Summary: Third in "The Secret Series". What happens when old flames return to their once lovers on Valentine's Day. Fluff, romance, and T-rated all the way. FINAL CHAPTER NOW UP.
1. Settin' the Scene

_**I'm ba-ack, and I've made it out of my slump! (yay, me!) I wanted to thank all of you who've stuck with this completely random series right from the get-go and all of you who reviewed. Also, special props to Coilerfan35 who has given me great feedback and more confidence about this series than I could ever hope to get. I owe ya, girl.**_

_**Per Robert Modean's request, I advise my readers not to drink anything while they are reading because things do get a little out of hand in my world of words between Booth and Brennan and I don't realize the extent of my own humorous statements. Well, without further ado…**_

_**Chapter One:**_

"Hey Bren, I got that facial reconstruction done for you." Angela stuck her head into her best friend's office to see her brooding over her computer. "You wanna come check it out?"

Brennan's head snapped up to attention, obviously coming out of a trance, "I'm sorry, Ange, what did you say?" she rubbed her eyes.

She looked in on the forensic anthropologist to see that she'd obviously been thinking about something prior to her appearance. Angela had been ecstatic when Brennan told her that she and Booth had finally made that tiny little leap into a deeper relationship that her squeal had echoed all throughout the lab, earning her several quizzical looks over the following days. She didn't care, at least Brennan would finally be happy. But for right now, she looked anything besides happy.

"What's wrong with you, Brennan? You've been acting kinda weird since you told me about you and Agent Stud-Muffin." She rubbed her friend's shoulder while she buried her head in her hands again.

"It's nothing. I just haven't been sleeping very well lately." Brennan explained in hushed voice.

"If you're not sleeping because of it, it's not nothing. Spill." Angela made herself comfortable on the edge of Brennan's desk.

"It's…difficult to explain." Brennan brought her arms around to hold herself in the freezing lab air. Winter was a harsh month on the squints since that particular wing of the Jeffersonian was the farthest away from the central heater.

"When have I found anything hard to believe?" she pointed out.

This made Brennan chuckle, "That's true." She met Angela's eyes, which were obviously waiting patiently for her to continue. "I realized last night that this is the longest I've ever gone without… consummating a relationship."

"You mean…you and Booth haven't…?" she trailed off.

"No," Brennan finished for her, picking up on her intention.

"Wow." Angela laughed slightly, "I thought you two would've made like bunnies by now."

"I don't know what that means." Brennan deadpanned.

She hung her head at how hard it was to communicate with her best friend. "Bren, what have I told you before? You want something to happen, you have to _make_ it happen."

Brennan looked up into the brown eyes that reminded her so much of Booth's, "And how exactly do I do that?"

A short knock at her glass door had them both turning their attention to a delivery man, holding roughly two dozen red and pink heart-shaped balloons and a giant stuffed tie-dyed teddy bear. "Delivery for Temperance Brennan." he said. Brennan groaned as she signed for it while scouring the lab for any pairs of eyes that dared to show amusement.

Angela only giggled, "Hodgins is right, love is in the purified and ionized lab air."

The delivery guy skipped out as Brennan returned to her office, walking awkwardly with the three-foot tall rainbow fluff ball banging against the front of her legs as she went.

"Please tell me there's a card, sweetie." Angela was barely biting back her laughter at the sight of her friend's present. Brennan found it pinned to the bears bow-tie and ripped it open in one fast move.

"'_Know you hate the holiday, but I couldn't resist when I saw it. Yours truly, Seeley.'_" Brennan read and Angela 'awed' at the cuteness of it all. "What holiday is he talking about?"

"Don't you know what day it is, Bren? It's February 14th…Valentine's Day?" she asked.

"Oh, right, that is today, isn't it?" Brennan said in a non-caring tone.

Angela looked at her like she'd grown a second head that was singing opera. She knew Brennan's distaste for most holidays, saying they were just like ordinary days, save for Independence Day, she said that had a point.

"Bren, listen to me very closely. You have a man now, and not just any man, a top-dog of men. If you're looking for a way to get the ball in motion, this is a perfect set-up." she said carefully, enunciating each syllable so she wouldn't miss anything.

"Assuming that by 'top-dog' you mean 'alpha-male', I agree with you vehemently, but you lost me when you started talking about spherical objects." Brennan fixed the bow-tie on the bear. She had to admit, he was really soft and fuzzy.

She sighed, "My poor Bren." Angela got up, walked to Brennan's coat rack, and threw her street jacket towards her. "It's our lunch hour, grab your coat, we're going shopping." she stated. Brennan was left without room to object.

"What are we going shopping for?" Brennan followed her friend.

"I'll tell you when we get there." Angela wasn't about to give up that she was taking her friend to a certain store that specialized in 'secret' apparel.

* * *

Booth sat at his desk, wondering if Brennan had received his little surprised yet. He would've killed to see her face when the FedEx guy went traipsing through the lab with heart balloons and a rainbow bear. He should've asked Hodgins to record the moment that would forever be in his memory. It would be great to replay over and over again to her agitation.

It was slowly reaching three o'clock. He had more than two hours to go until he could clock out for the day. It also seemed like murders had taken the holiday off. No new cases had come across Booth's desk and the Squints were happily buzzing about their lab with bones and goo that needed to be examined.

So Booth sat at his desk, throwing a tennis ball he kept in his drawer against the wall he kept blank for that one purpose. He hardly heard the soft chirp of his cell phone in his pocket alerting him to a text message. _'Huh, it's from Bones. She must miss me.'_ he thought smugly to himself as he hit read.

"_My place, 8:30."_ was what short message said. This sent Booth's thoughts reeling in all different directions at once. Like any typical man, Booth went on instinct and did the first thing that came to his mind.

"_What happens at ur place at 8:30?"_ he typed as fast as his impaired texting skills would allow him. He could hardly go at two words a minute, so the process took him longer than it would've taken Brennan to. Booth always asked her to text for him and marveled at her speedy fingers each time she would say 'done' after thirty seconds when she'd just typed a paragraph.

He stared at the insipid piece of technology, waiting for it to chime its happy bells again with a new message. Booth sat there for five solid minutes before it dinged. He grabbed it excitedly and read.

"_You'll see."_

'_You'll see?! What the hell's that supposed to mean?!'_ he shouted internally before a slightly dim-witted idea entered his brain.

"_what will I see?" _He laughed a little. He knew Brennan was NOT good at mind games by any stretch, but this _was_ a little simple, even for her. Not five seconds had gone by when he got the two-word response he'd been expecting.

"_You'll see."_

Ugh, sometimes this woman could be really irritating. Why would she send that at three o'clock?

'_Something must've wormed it's way into that gigantic, beautiful brain. Probably of Angela's doing, no doubt. Well, if she's got something stewing in her head, I can dish it out, too."_ Booth grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair and dashed towards the florist. If he was lucky, he might be able to wean out two dozen roses. An even better idea came when he thought about daffodils.

* * *

_**Brennan's Apartment: 8:00 p.m.**_

Angela had just left to plot her own Valentine's Day which Hodgins had probably already taken care off. When they'd gotten back from shopping, Brennan spent almost three hours sitting in her bathroom while her 'supposedly' best friend subjected her to numerous tortures involving hair and make-up. When she'd ask a question about what she was rubbing into her hair, Angela only smiled and told her not to worry about it. Brennan didn't even get a chance to look at herself in the mirror. After a while, Angela hopped up and told her to tell her everything tomorrow morning.

Now, alone with her own thoughts, she decided to prepare herself for whatever she looked like. She breathed deeply before she picked up her head to face the mirror. Brennan was rather surprised at what she found. Her auburn hair had been twisted into soft, gentle curls that framed her face. Brennan could also distinct a small touch of mascara to enhance her already-radiant eyes and clear lip gloss.

'_All that took three hours? Ugh, what a waste of time.'_ she thought. It looked really good, but not three hours worth good.

Brennan moved onto what she and Angela had picked out for the evening. It was a simple red number with thin straps and came down to about mid-thigh. She only let Angela see it on her that once in the dressing room of the store, and decided to wait until she left to put it on.

She changed and tied her warm, plaid robe around the nightgown and had just dabbed some of her expensive perfume. It was the one of the two that Booth liked better. She lit the candles that Angela had strategically placed on each surface of her bedroom when she heard a knock at her door. _'Huh, he's early.'_

"Coming!" she called to who she thought was Booth. When she opened the door, however, she was in for one big shock.

"Hi, Tempe." the man said cheerily.

'_Oh, God, no. Why him? Why tonight? Why here? Why does this kind of crap always happen to me__?!' _Brennan shouted inside her own head.

"Sully…"

**_I know, I know, you're mad at the cliffy. But guys, if I didn't write the cliffy, there's a chance you might not stay tuned for the next chapter. Trust me, you're not gonna wanna miss the next chapter. Or maybe you do. It all depends on how many reviews I get, so hit that green button, my friends..._**


	2. Old Flames Die Hard

_**Peoples, I know this is just the beginning, but I really, really, REALLY need reviews on this one. Please? Is it too much to ask? **_

_**Chapter Two:**_

"Wow, Temperance…you look sensational." Sully awed at Brennan's less than conventional wardrobe. She blushed and pulled her robe tighter around her.

"Why are you here, Sully?" she asked the obvious.

Sully made a move to enter her apartment, but Brennan held firm and didn't give him the inch he desired to gain entry. "I came back to rejoin the agency. I thought I'd pay a visit to an old friend." he tried to charm her.

Brennan's mental jaw dropped. There wasn't a snowball's chance in hell that he wouldn't try to get back together with her when he came around again and she tried to prepare herself for it. However, a year plus away at sea and almost two months trying to grow her relationship with Booth had erased the thoughts from her mind.

"Sully, I…um…I'm expecting company soon, so…" she trailed off.

"What do you mean?" Sully asked, a stupid grin still donning his face.

"I…have a date…and I prefer that my ex wouldn't be here to greet him, so if you'll excuse me." Brennan reached for her door.

Sully held it shut. "Your ex? Tempe, I don't remember us ever breaking up."

Now she was annoyed. "We went our separate ways, Sully. You went on your boat and I stayed here. That's generally a break-up in my book."

"What? Me going on a boat is your definition of a break-up?" he started to lose his cool tone.

"No, not getting a letter, phone call, email from someone for a year, that to me means we aren't together anymore." she stated her calm rationale.

"Tempe, come on, it's the perfect set-up for us to pick up where we left off. It's Valentine's Day, you look amazing, no one around…" Sully moved in to life-threateningly touch Brennan's cheek.

She decided to let him off easy, and grabbed his wrist and twisted it into a snake-bite. The unexpected pain sent Sully down onto his knees.

"I think it's fair to say we had our chance. Goodnight, Agent Sullivan." Brennan slipped back into her apartment. She listened at the door until she heard the thumping of defeated footsteps walk down the corridor and into the elevator.

She allowed herself one angry huff and the horrible thoughts to enter her brain. _"What the hell is he thinking?! He wants to come sambaing (or is it waltzing?) back into my life after a year? How could he think that I haven't found someone else."_

Brennan couldn't spend that much time thinking about it. Booth would be there any second and she needed to shove all thoughts of her former lover aside.

* * *

Sully skulked out to his car, feeling just as unstrung as he looked. He didn't expect to just fall back into her life after a year, but he never imagined that she'd be seeing someone else, let alone someone she would pick over him. He was so crazy about her last year, he'd thought he'd lost his mind. This wasn't how Sully wanted things between him and Brennan to end.

When he'd gotten back to his Ford, he saw a someone with what approximated five dozen red roses mixed with daffodils. Sully could only imagine it was the company Brennan was expecting. He couldn't get a good look at the man's features given the darkness of the streets. His heart sank as he saw the man had a key to her building whereas Sully had to be let in by someone going out.

A brief thought entered his mind. He thought it could be Booth, his long-time friend and colleague. He shook it from his mind. _"Booth doesn't have the courage to do something like that."_

* * *

A single stream of light trickled through the heavy eclipse curtains that hung over the windows of the bedroom. The candles that once burned proudly were now either blown out or melted into a hardened pile of wax. The clock read six-thirty in the morning.

Booth didn't sleep that night. It was near impossible for him to sleep in beds that weren't his. It wasn't anything new to him. He was thankful, though, for the pleasant eye-candy he was given to occupy himself.

Brennan was out like a light. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that she'd be exhausted, maybe even a little sore. The desperation that had surfaced the previous night had died down after the third time as she drifted into sleep, leaving Booth behind on the journey.

So now Booth lovingly stroked and played with her hair gently. He thought he wouldn't be able to sleep even if he tried. It was too frightening to maybe fall asleep, wake up, and find out that all of this was some twisted joke his subconscious played on him. Booth pinched himself several times over the course of the night, all of which he felt pain.

A soft sigh escaped his partner's lips, confirming it was no dream. Brilliant blue eyes slowly came into focus in on their surroundings, particularly resting on one certain F.B.I. agent that was smiling softly at her.

"Hey," he whispered, his hand coming down to rest against her cheek.

"Hi," she replied, covering said hand with one of her own.

"You okay?" Booth couldn't stop the question from coming out.

Brennan laughed, "What would make you think otherwise?" she pulled the warm sheets further up around her slightly chilled figure.

"You just kinda seemed…out of it…when I got here last night." he finished with his macho, overly-protective speech.

Her Cheshire cat smile didn't falter at the mention, "I was fine, Booth, I guess I was just a little…jittery."

He smiled back and was ready to let the subject drop when Brennan felt her stomach wretch into tight knots for not telling him the entire truth. There was a reason for her anxiety and it had a name, one she now wished she'd never heard.

Booth was just getting up when she caught his hand, "Booth, there is something you should know."

Looking into her deep cerulean eyes that hinted no amusement anywhere, he leaned back against the headboard, holding her hand in both of his. "I'm listening."

Brennan sighed. She didn't think there was an easy way to tell your boyfriend that your ex had showed up on Valentine's Day night to see you. She was rapidly putting more permanence in the thought. At Booth's gentle, reassuring touch skittering across her knuckles, she said it the only way she knew how. Quick, blunt, and like ripping off a band-aid.

"Sully showed up last night."

**_I know, I know...Cliffy, and you're mad. I know you guys don't like the cliffies. Hell, I don't like reading them myself. But how else will I get you to review? How do you think Booth'll react? Any suggestions for next chapter? Please let me know by clicking that big, green button down there._**


	3. AlphaMale Competition

_**I know this was a long-time coming and it's not very long, but it felt like this is what needed to happen this chapter.**_

_**Chapter Three:**_

Booth was dead silent. There wasn't much to say in the first place. He didn't know what had stunned him into silence so badly. Brennan's reaction, to herself, was completely irrational.

"I didn't even let him in, Booth. I told him to take a walk as soon as he knocked on my door." she rushed out.

Booth pulled her closer and enveloped her in a warm embrace, not wanting her past to infringe on his current happiness. He had to ask the inevitable question.

"Did you feel anything for him, Bones?" he whispered into her hair.

Brennan nuzzled into his neck and let her emotions take precedence over her rationality. The first few tears trickled from her eyes as she started to speak.

"No, Booth, I didn't. The only thing I felt was irritated that he showed up thinking that I was just free and easy. I told him I had other engagements already made." she spoke softly.

"Very pleasurable engagements." he smirked. "If you didn't feel anything for him, then I have no reason to doubt you. I trust you more than I trust anyone, Bones. Something you don't have to worry about is my faith in you."

He wiped her stray tears away with his thumbs. He smiled at her that kooky charm smile of his. Brennan suddenly felt this fluttering in her stomach that refused to quit and her palms were sweating. She shook off the feelings and rose. If she didn't get going soon, she was going to be late for work.

* * *

Booth dropped Brennan off at the Jeffersonian, not wanting to go in and be greeted by the ever in-your-face inquiries of Miss Angela Montenegro. She said she understood, but was slightly irked at the thought of facing her friends interrogation alone.

He laughed, gave her a quick kiss, then drove to the Hoover building to clock in. He kind of wished that he could be a fly on the wall of Angela's inquisition.

Apparently, Cullen had a sense of humor this morning. Booth walked into his office to a half-foot tall stack of file folders, all containing some sort of paperwork, no doubt. He groaned and threw his suit jacket over the back of his chair.

"Booth."

The voice at the door was already identified to his ears even before he turned around. Booth decided to play along like he didn't know he was coming. He turned around.

"Sully? Wow, man, good to see you. How are things going?" Booth asked.

He smiled slightly, "Well, they could be better. I went to see Tempe last night."

It pulled at a string in Booth's heart to hear him call her 'Tempe'. _"Stop thinking like that! She's not Tempe, she's Bones. Finally YOUR Bones."_ he thought. "Yeah, what'd she think?"

Sully sighed, "Not quite the reaction I was hoping for."

Booth smiled internally. "Yeah, what was that?"

"Possibly breaking my wrist." he fell into one of Booth's wingback chairs in front of his desk.

This time, the smile did reach his lips. _That's my girl._ "Really?"

"She said she was expecting company, and she was in this beautiful red…dress-like thing…" he rambled in misery.

Booth simply reminisced in happiness. He remembered that loose-fitting nightgown that she didn't even end up wearing for very long. He didn't let the ego show and simply nodded his head.

"Hey, do you know who this guy is that she's seeing, 'cause I thought she'd have a whole different way of handling me coming back." Sully looked at his long-time friend and comrade.

His eyebrows knitted, "What did you expect from her, Sul?"

Sully shrugged, "I don't know, I guess I just thought we could pick up where we left off. You still didn't answer my question."

Booth fought whether to tell him or not. He really wanted to say that Brennan was his girlfriend and they were happily together after three years of sexual tension. On the other hand, he also thought that she should be the one to tell her ex-boyfriend that she was with someone else. So all he said was, "I really don't think it's my place to tell you about my partner's social life."

"Hmm…alright, well I gotta go fill out reinstatement paperwork. I'll talk to you later." Sully exited his office. Booth got the feeling that the only reason that Sully came into his office was to milk him for information on Brennan's new flame.

'_Time for a little field trip.'_ he thought, reclaiming his jacket and walking out of his office, saying 'screw it' to his paperwork.

* * *

Brennan looked around the corner. _'Good, no Angela just yet,'_ she thought as she skedaddled to the next safe hiding spot she had in her sights. She could see the security and privacy of her office not fifteen feet away. She made a brisk walk for it, thinking she was in the clear.

"Bren-nan!"

'_Shit! So close!'_ Brennan turned to see Angela, in a word, barreling towards her best friend. She didn't even have reaction time as Angela yanked Brennan into her into her intended destination and pushed her onto the couch.

"Spill, honey. I want every single detail." she said in a very serious tone.

Brennan chuckled, "Well, after you left, I'd just gotten everything set up and changed, and I had an… unexpected visitor." she said lightly.

"What was so unexpected about Booth?" Angela asked.

Brennan shook her head, "Sully."

All she had to say was that one word to stun Angela into a dead silence with her jaw slacked. "Are you serious?"

"What would be the benefit of lying to you, Ange?" she asked inquisitively.

Angela shook her head, "Never mind it, Sweetie. So what happened?"

"I calmly told him that I was in a new relationship and that he can't just come back into my life and expect it to be exactly how he left it." Brennan said in her objective, rational voice.

"Which is completely true. Did you tell him it was Booth?" she asked.

"No, I didn't think that it was that it was relevant for him to know who I choose to keep company."

"It isn't any of his business, Sweetie, but don't you think that he might try to win you back if he thinks he has a chance at you?" Angela reasoned.

"What do you mean, Ange?"

Angela squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed at her closed lids. How to explain to Brennan the wondrous ways of jealous men? It was a question it was still too early in the morning for.

"Okay, Sweetie, It's basically how you say Booth has alpha-male tendencies?" she nodded, "Well, Sully is the same way. They both want you, and they both can't have you, so what happens between the two males?" she tried to explain it in terms that Brennan would understand.

"They…" The metaphorical hamster began running the wheels in Brennan's head, "They compete for the female's attentions."

"Yeah, only in this case, it's not going to be a physical fight." she continued.

"Then what is it if it's not physical?" Brennan asked.

"You'll see what I mean when the time comes."

* * *

Booth walked into the Jeffersonian and walked the path he'd memorized since Bones and his second case together. The Anthropology wing was without a doubt the shiniest and cleanest of any of the other labs he'd been to in the museum (and those were just a few). He walked around the giant obstruction in the middle of the lab they called the forensic platform and towards Brennan's office in the back.

He should've been alerted when he saw Angela and Brennan smiling and talking. He didn't doubt for a second that Angela stormed in and demanded details of the previous night, and was pretty sure that Brennan would give up the details fairly easily. Booth decided to just linger until his presence was noticed by Angela.

"Hey, James Bond," Angela said with a smirk.

"Hey, it's Booth… Seeley Booth." Booth replied while doing a few kung-fu moves. Brennan rolled her eyes at both of them and retreated to the sanity of the emails at her computer awaiting her reply.

"Bren, you and I are going out to lunch today, right?" Angela asked, barely hanging in the doorway.

"Yep, I'll talk to you then." Brennan said as her friend left. She turned to Booth. "So, what have you done in the half hour since I last saw you?" she asked.

He thought about his response for a second, "Can I greet my girlfriend properly first?"

She sighed, "If you must, you must."

Booth smiled, walked around her desk and kissed her squarely on the lips for a brief moment before pulling away. "Hi."

"Hi." she replied. "Now will you answer my question?"

"Your good old boy-toy came to see me this morning." Booth sat on the edge of her desk.

"What do you…oh," Brennan put two and two together herself, "What'd he say?"

He swung his legs in the air next to her, "He basically asked me who you were seeing and was miserable at the fact that you were all dressed up beautifully for someone else." his lips stretched in a half smile.

She blushed at his words, "Did you tell him?"

Booth shook his head, "No, I think he'd rather hear it from you."

"It's none of his business who I want to be with after he's been gone for a year, barely knows me anymore." Brennan mumbled as she flipped absent-mindedly through her inbox emails. One, however, stood out from the lot of them. "Oh, wonderful."

"What's wrong?" Booth leaned over to look more closely.

There it was, in all it's glory, an email from none other than Agent Timothy Sullivan. Brennan opened it to be greeted by dancing hearts and flowers that said 'Will you be my belated Valentine?' She clenched her teeth and deleted it rather quickly.

"Temperance," the hand under her chin brought her face and eyes back to her partner's.

She knew he meant something needed to be done about the situation, and she knew it too. It didn't make the process any less dreadful though. Brennan strongly believed that life leaves no room for second chances or regrets. She didn't regret letting Sully go or being with Booth or have Sully show up while she was waiting for Booth. That last one was an unfortunate accident, but she'd never regret her choice last night for even a nanosecond. Even with all these distinctions, the air was murky and needed to be cleared.

"I'll talk to him," her eyes never left Booth's

"That's my girl." he kissed her again.

**_Now, I know some of you think I'm writing Sully a little mean, and yeah whatever he was a nice guy. But if you actually THINK about it, Brennan had just let down her guard around him when he said he was gonna take off in his boat. Yeah, I know, it was her choice to stay for Booth, I just don't like him._**

**_Please, please, PLEASE reviews are little drops of heaven to me and my fingers that write this._**


	4. Undeserved Vengeance Is A B tch

_**This one is kinda angsty, for your fair warning, but I can't write angst for too long before I get depressed.**_

_**Chapter Four:**_

"I just don't know what to do, Angela."

The artist empathized with her anthropological best friend over their cups of coffee at the Royal Diner. Brennan couldn't stop thinking about having to talk to Sully and tell him it was over. She herself knew it was, but having to tell him when he still hoped for another shot stirred up some awkward feelings in her that she couldn't shake.

"Sweetie, I don't think you have a thing to worry about in the world. You've got Special Agent Hot-stuff who's sworn on a million graves never to leave you. You have it made, Bren." Angela said dramatically.

"I'm not sure I understood any of that except that first sentence." Brennan brought the steaming mug to her lips.

Angela reached across the table and covered her friend's free hand with her own, "That's all you have to understand, Sweetie."

Brennan smiled weakly at her, and was about to add something to the conversation when she felt a third presence at the table. She looked over to see the man she'd been trying not to see.

"Hi, Temperance." Sully smiled.

"Uh,…Ange, I…." Brennan started to say. Angela held up her hand.

"I got it. Hodgins and Zack need me to run them some scenarios on a case. I'll talk to you back at the lab." she patted Brennan's shoulder reassuringly, then rose and left the diner. Brennan desperately wanted to follow her, but she had to take care of this mess, first.

"_Sooner I do it, the sooner it's done."_ she reasoned.

Sully had sat down in Angela's empty seat and reached out to her, similar to how Angela had. Brennan's hand retreated back to join the other on her lap. Sully was obviously hurt by the motion.

"What is it about me, Tempe? What happened to us?" he asked.

"It's nothing about you, you sailed off in your boat and I stayed here to work. That was the end of it, or so I thought." she replied calmly and rationally.

"Well then tell me who. Who's so important to you that you shut me out last night?" he was getting agitated now.

Brennan scrubbed her make-up free face with her hands and ran her fingers through her hair roughly. She decided the best thing she could do was tell the truth.

She leveled her eyes to his. "Booth."

Sully's head jerked up, "What about him?"

"It's him. Our relationship's escalated since Christmastime." she said.

He thought about this for a second, then laughed under his breath.

Brennan found all of this anything but humorous. "What?"

"You didn't have to go and bold-faced lie to me, Tempe. I understand if you don't wanna talk about it." he spoke to her like she was an invalid.

"Sully, I told you, I'm having a relationship with Booth now. If you find that amusing, you can sit here and laugh to yourself." Brennan stood up.

"Temperance, you're not serious, are you?" he still chuckled. He didn't think it was possible for the only woman he'd ever been crazy about to be dating her partner.

"There's nothing I'd gain out of lying to you." Brennan put her money on the table, picked up her purse, and left without a backward glance. She was surprised to see a familiar black SUV parked across the street, the engine idling and waiting for her to join who sat behind the wheel. She made her way over to the passenger side that was named her own and climbed in.

"How'd he take it?" Booth asked.

"He didn't believe me. He didn't think it was possible for us to be together." she said sullenly.

A sudden grin broke out across Booth's face as he scooted closer to Brennan. She, who just ended up smiling back, was confused. "What?" she asked.

"A little proof for wandering eyes." Booth stated simply, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"Oh…" was all she was able to say before Booth crushed her lips with his own. She didn't waste time returning it full force.

Inside the diner, Sully watched the scene unfold in the vehicle across the street through the diner's window. It felt like someone had just twisted a knife into his heart watching her kiss him.

'_There's no way that Cullen knows about this. It's not possible,' _he reasoned with himself. _'I gotta figure this out.'_ he thought as he bolted out of the diner.

* * *

"Director Cullen, I have a question to ask you?" Sully stood at the doorway of his boss's office, awaiting Cullen to acknowledged his employee's presence.

He looked up, "Yeah, Tim, come on in."

Sully entered the office the rest of the way and sat down in front of his desk. "Do you know that Dr. Brennan and Agent Booth are in a relationship?" he didn't bother with pleasantries.

"I sure hope they have a relationship of some kind since their partners." He stated the obvious.

"No, that's not what I mean. They have a…sexual…relationship." he surmised.

Cullen waited to hear more. When Sully didn't provide it, he said, "So?"

"They're partners, Sir! There are rules for this so it doesn't happen!"

"If I may, Agent Sullivan, those rules govern the relationship between two _F.B.I. agents_. Dr. Brennan is a scientist at the Jeffersonian and, frankly, I don't see the harm in it when Agent Booth's work reviews have sky-rocketed since he started dating her and the bickering has dwindled down considerably." Cullen was tense throughout his entire speech. "Why do you think that no one said 'boo' when you were seeing Dr. Brennan?"

"I…" Sully wasn't sure what to say. He didn't think that his superior had actually signed off on the relationship between Booth and Brennan, let alone practically endeared it. "I'm sorry, Sir. I didn't think you knew." he rose and began to leave.

"Sullivan." Cullen called before he even got to the door.

"Yes, sir?"

"If I find out that you're messin' with my top team's heads, trust me, you are _not_ gonna like the consequences." Cullen used his scariest voice possible.

It must've had some effect because Sully hurriedly left the room to go back to whatever work there was that needed doing. Instead of working though, he sat at his desk and did nothing more that sulk and think. He ended up choking the armrests of his computer chair.

'_I can't let this happen, not right under my damn nose,'_

* * *

_**Later That Night…**_

Booth walked happily along the sidewalk towards Brennan's apartment building. The nearest parking spot had been in a structure around the block, but he didn't mind with the crisp night air as his companion. He was just happy to be in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt for a change instead of the stuffy suits he had to wear for work. He wondered what his girlfriend was up to in that moment.

He pulled out his phone and hit speed-dial one. When he heard the light 'hello' at the other end, he smiled. "What'cha doin'?"

Even though he couldn't see her, he heard the smile in her voice, "Waiting for you." Brennan replied easily.

"Well, if I knew you were waiting, I would've picked up the pace." his steps slightly increased in speed. He wasn't five yards from the door of the building when he felt something hard come into contact with his skull.

"Booth? Booth, are you alright?" Brennan asked when she heard him grunt in pain.

He heard his lover's voice, but couldn't answer with anything better than groans of agony he felt from the indentations his attacker's fists left. Booth tried to fight back, but his limbs wouldn't respond to the commands his brain sent out.

He heard the sharp sound of footsteps retreating away as a female voice shouted to the person in question. The next thing he felt was a cold hand stroke his cheek lightly. He was able to make out '911', 'ambulance', and 'attack'. After a second, he felt himself being pulled into a feminine embrace.

"Booth…" he heard Brennan say before everything in the world went black and silent.

**_Who was that shape in the shadows? I think you already know, but you're gonna have to review to find out. I would like a mere twenty reviews before I update again. Is that so hard? Just please click the button!_**


	5. Love In The Time Of Jealousy

_**Because all of you were so nice to give me more than the number of reviews I wanted, I typed up this precious little document for all of your pleasures. Keep the comments coming. P. about the mix up with names, but it's fixed now.**_

_**Chapter Five:**_

Brennan paced the ER waiting room. She'd never felt useless. It was almost like someone had her heart clenched in an iron vice that showed no sign of loosening.

A couple of months ago, Brennan would _never_ believe that a pain and anxiety could exist. It was so new and strange to her she didn't know how to react. She wanted to cry, yell, and inflict bodily harm on someone. At the moment, she refused to act on any of those instincts.

"Dr. Brennan?" one of the nurses came out of the back doors that led to who-knows-where.

"Yes?" she walked up to her.

"I think you already know this, but he got it handed to him pretty badly. Ribs four, five, and six on the left side are cracked, mild concussion, broken wrist, and miscellaneous cuts and bruises. Overall, he's gonna be just fine, he just needs to take it easy for awhile." she said.

Brennan sighed in relief. As long as his ribs weren't completely broken, Booth would be fine in a couple of weeks. "Thank you." she said to the nurse, who smiled and went about her work. Brennan allowed herself one quick tremble and two sharp tears to trail down her cheeks.

"Dr. Bones?" she heard a small boy's voice behind her. She turned around to see Parker racing towards her at full speed. Brennan knelt down just in time to catch him in an embrace. "Is daddy gonna be okay?" he mumbled into her shoulder.

"Yeah, Parker, he's gonna be just fine." she hugged him tightly in reassurance. Rebecca stood a few feet away, watching the scene that transpired between her son and his father's girlfriend. Just as she'd thought before, Brennan was a great role model for Parker.

"What's wrong with him?" Rebecca asked as she stood to full height; Parker burying his head into her side.

Brennan relayed the information to Rebecca just as the nurse had told her. She didn't even notice it, but Brennan ended up stroking Parker's hair while she spoke. It gave him a warm and protected feeling that only made him nuzzle his head deeper into her side.

"When can we see him, Dr. Bones?" the boy mumbled quietly.

She felt her throat constrict as she swallowed uncomfortably. "Soon, Park, pretty soon."

The small boy smiled up at his idol and hugged her again. Brennan would've liked to know why Parker liked her so much. It was weird for her to be liked by children because of her big words and lack of pop culture knowledge. The Booth boy didn't seemed to care about any of that. Booth told her once that Parker probably felt 'relaxed by her presence' and 'didn't feel like he had to put on a show for her'. In her mind, he was as much himself around her as his father always was.

"Dr. Brennan?" she turned around to see the same nurse standing in the doorway, "He's awake and asking for you."

"Okay, thank you." she responded. The nurse smiled broadly in a cheery mood that only nurses could obtain for the benefit of the sickly and the bereaved. "You ready to go see your dad?" she asked her Siamese twin.

He nodded his head vigorously, "Yeah." Parker said happily.

The trio walked down the corridor of bleach-white rooms that were not a happy place for the people in them or the loved ones visiting. Brennan gave herself one last mental preparation. She knew it was nothing serious or life-threatening, but that didn't mean that Booth wouldn't look like hell on two feet when she saw him. She stopped outside the appropriate door, breathed once more very deeply, and opened the door.

"Daddy!" Parker flew into the room that housed the uncomfortable hospital bed that his father was confined to for the time being.

"Hey, Park!" Booth returned just as enthusiastically as the boy jumped up onto the bed.

Brennan had to admit, she'd seen him beaten worse before. He had a black eye, five large bruises that were already turning dark purple, and only three cuts that were bandaged closed to heal. Since no one mentioned anything about stitches, she was forced to assume that Booth hadn't needed any.

She took in the sight before her; a badly beaten F.B.I. agent and his son sitting happily by his side in his hour of need. Brennan didn't think she'd ever seen anything so special in her entire life. She'd seen victims of genocide, murder, torture, and neglect. She'd been a victim of abandonment and abuse throughout her entire life. You'd think she'd be able to handle the man she cared for more than anything in the world, relatively in one piece, with his child. Apparently not.

Brennan felt the stinging tears swell over and down her pale cheeks. The rare occasion when she cried was never usually teamed with an audience. It only served to make her feel like more of an idiot.

"Bones?" Booth said, snapping her out of her trance of self-foolishness for a moment, "C'mere."

It was a simple request, and one that she was only too happy to oblige. While Parker sat on the side of him that was now Booth's bad arm that was wrapped in a cast and a sling, Brennan favored the opposite side and sat down in the chair that was there.

"Who did it?" Brennan whispered with questioning eyes towards him.

Booth groaned audibly, whether in pain or reluctance to answer is unknown, "You wouldn't believe me." he stated.

"Why? Have I given you reason to doubt me?" Brennan replied somewhat sourly.

"It's not that Bones, it's just the simple fact that I don't think you'd believe me." He looked down.

Rebecca, sensing some sort of private bickering coming on, decided privacy was they wanted at that particular moment. "Parker, why don't we go get a soda and give Daddy and Dr. Bones a minute?"

"Are they gonna fight?" he asked his mother.

_Kid's too damn smart, _she thought to herself, "Probably." she stated once they were outside a closed door.

Cerulean met chocolate in a heated stare that both threatened and reassured simultaneously. Brennan moved closer to sit on the bed next to him. "Please, who did this, Booth?" she asked again.

"It doesn't matter." he said.

"The hell it does! Someone ran up to you on the street and beat you to a bloody pulp and I wanna know who it is!" Brennan kept her voice low, her words filled to the brimming with venom.

Booth averted his eyes, alpha-male pride not wanting her to see him weakened and vulnerable.

Brennan wouldn't have it, a soft 'hey' escaping her lips as she gently placed her hand alongside his cheek, bringing his eyes back to her.

"Booth, we've been partners for three years. We've trusted each other under every other circumstance. And frankly…" she struggled with just how to say what she felt. Brennan leaned her forehead onto his, no room for either's eyes to flee the other's, "…I love you."

His heart had stopped dead in it's blood-pulsing tracks. She'd never told him bluntly that she loved him before. It was an all-new euphoria that could hardly be described by anything else besides his Bones, once again, rendering him utterly speechless. "You love me?" he asked incredulously.

"And this frightened me, Booth. So would you please tell me who did this to you?" she practically begged.

Booth moved his lips up to her hair-covered ear and whispered gently into it. When Brennan learned what he had to say, she didn't show any emotion rather than stroking the knuckles of Booth's good hand with her thumb.

"I'll take care of it." was what she had to say before Parker and Rebecca returned.

* * *

Brennan sat in the unfamiliar office. It was a lot like him, really. Alpha-male, organized, and precise. Everything had a place and wasn't to be moved unless permission was granted by it's habitant. She didn't care that much. She sat in his chair and waited ever-so-patiently for him to return.

What she'd really done was snuck in. Brennan had told the receptionist that she'd wanted her presence to be a surprise for him. The woman nodded as if she understood and let her in, no questions asked. It left Brennan to wonder if the Jeffersonian guards would be so happy to let an intruder into one of their offices. She had to think they wouldn't, otherwise her eyes could never leave her own office door again.

The door opened, and she sat relaxed with her feet propped up on the desk and fingers laced behind her head. _'Kinda like Booth.'_

"Temperance!" The shocked male voice squeaked. He'd changed his hair and put on a little weight, but Brennan knew that face anywhere. She was quickly regretting that last part.

"Hello, Micheal." she replied, sultry and smooth. She didn't feel anything but a cold hatred imbedding itself into her lower stomach.

"This is a surprise. After that court case with the fridge-girl, you said you never wanted to see me again." he was playing the same card that she had: seductive.

"Yes, I did. But something weird happened last night…" Brennan brought her hands around and tented her fingers in front of her. "My partner was beaten up by a dark figure outside my apartment building. He didn't have a chance to fight back, you know, with being struck over the head with a board."

"You and Booth are still partners? Wow, sorry about that." he said with false innocence in his voice.

"You should be, considering you're the one who did it." she replied easily.

"What? No, I didn't!" Dr. Stires rebutted.

Brennan scoffed, "Come on, Michael. You can't lie worth a damn and you know it. Especially to me; your favorite student."

He cleared his throat. Obviously, she was having some kind of effect on him. Brennan stood and walked around to the front of the desk, claiming a new seat on the edge. "What was it, Michael? Alpha-male garbage, or 'I can't be happy with anyone other than you' garbage?"

"Neither, I've moved on, Tempe." Michael said firmly.

Brennan nodded in acknowledgement, then released that deep, burning fire of rage that built up in her heart by knocking his feet out from under him and pushing her elbow in dangerous proximity to his windpipe. "Then why did you hand my boyfriend's ass to him in front of my building?" she seethed through clenched teeth. She only hoped she'd gotten the phrase right.

"I-I-It wasn't my fault!" he breathed out in a rush. "S-someone p-paid me to."

"Who was that?" she let off a little bit.

"S-s-someone named S-s-s-s-Sullivan." he finally made out.

Her eyes went wide in fury. Brennan got off of her former professor for the last time and charged out of the building, hunting for another ex's blood.

**_I'm raising the number by a little. It'd be so nice if I could break a hundred reviews with this chapter. Get me in triple digits, and you'll get a great next chapter._**


	6. The Beginning Of The War

**_I know this is really short, sweet, and to the point, but I didn't have time to write out a fancy, elaborate chapter when my connection to the internet's fuzzy. _**

**Chapter Six:**

"_Agent Sullivan, in my office, now!" Cullen was visibly trembling with rage, his eyes a cold and bloodthirsty stare that chilled Sully right down to the core. He followed his superior unwillingly, knowing only bad things could come from Cullen when he was __this_ pissed off.

They both went into Cullen's office, where Brennan was awaiting them. To Sully, she looked like she always had: a goddess. Even in black slacks, her signature black knee-high boots, and a cream colored sweater tied around a white t-shirt, she looked amazing to him. The only thing he wished he could change about her were the dark circles rimming her eyes, the tell-tale signs of not sleeping the night before.

"Sullivan, Dr. Brennan has brought to my attention that you are indirectly responsible for putting Agent Booth in the hospital." Cullen was too furious to sit and simply stood beside his chair.

"What? Booth's in the hospital?" he played dumb. He knew about it, he just didn't know the extent of the injuries. He'd told the old teacher to put him somewhere in the middle of merely bruised and impotent. Curiosity killed the cat, though, so he clammed up after that.

Brennan looked at the toes of her boots, still in disbelief that he could go so low as to hire someone else from her past to go and toss around her current beau. The lack of sleep wasn't helping either. She'd been up all night, comforting Booth in the hospital as much she could, set out to find Michael this morning, and now just got her moments rest by leaning against the file cabinet in Cullen's office. She would've given anything in that second to just bring Booth back to her apartment, crawl into her bed, and sleep for eternity.

"I think you know damned well that Booth's in the hospital." she managed to weakly say.

"Tempe, I can't believe that you would think I could do something like this!" Sully replied like a defiant adolescent.

"But, then again, you didn't have to do the dirty work, did you?" she pulled a manila folder out from behind her back and handed it to the director. He skimmed through the contents, eyes bulging when he read what Brennan had highlighted.

"Wire transfer for three grand from Agent Sullivan's savings account to a Mr. Michael Stires. Care to explain why you're giving a rich scientist so much of your own money?" Cullen challenged.

Sully was shocked. He couldn't believe that Brennan had the gall to go digging through his bank records, much more worried that she had gotten clearance. "How did you get access to that?" his eyes shifted to her.

Brennan could hardly stand she was so drained, but mustered up a Cheshire Cat worthy smile, "Booth, it's not like I don't know all his passwords. He's a pretty predictable guy."

He turned back to Cullen, who was even less forgiving than Brennan. "Agent Sullivan, if you would? Gun and badge."

Sully couldn't speak as he did as he was told. Fired right in front of the woman he loved and pride shattered. He retreated back to his desk and started the painful process of cleaning it out. Watching as Brennan left Cullen's office with a look of relief etched on her face, something inside him snapped like a twig. All that was looping through his brain at that moment was:

"_Retribution's at hand now, you little bitch."_

*** * * * ***

_**One Month Later…**_

Brennan leaned over the remains of a twenty-something male who bore the tell-tale signs of an accidental death due to a car-wreck, but Booth needed his Bones to check and make sure. It was late, she realized when the skylights of the Jeffersonian did nothing to illuminate the lab. She groaned and turned on the fluorescent ones that only served to sting her eyes after some time had passed.

"Bones, I didn't mean for you to get straight to work on it." Booth called from the base of the platform. His arm and ribs had now fully healed, relieved that he could drive again. Brennan driving the SUV was like a death wish. "It's already ten o'clock." he whined.

"Booth, it's not like I'm gonna be here all night." she countered as he scribbled something down on her clipboard. "Why don't you just head back to your apartment and I'll be a half-hour at the most." she suggested.

The thought wasn't that appealing when the one who offered could stretch a half-hour into three minimum. Then again, there wasn't much room for arguing with Bones. "Thirty minutes." he said and retreated out to the SUV.

"Finally, some peace." Brennan mumbled after the lab doors whisked shut behind him. She didn't have much time, so she decided to make the most of it. She worked quickly, and was done with enough to satisfy herself in twenty minutes.

Shucking her lab coat for a street jacket, she piled her things into her bag and rushed out the door, locking the lab behind her. Brennan wanted to know where it was along the line when she actually started _listening_ to her partner. It must've been right before she agreed to go to church with them for Parker's sake.

She laughed to herself as she entered the parking garage that sat underneath the building. The air was thick and muggy for some reason unexplainable in the cool March weather. Ignoring it, Brennan walked straight up to her BMW waiting in the appropriate space.

A shadow swung around a pillar, pipe in hand that knocked the wind out of her and sent her careening back onto the ground. She looked up into the eyes of a mad man.

"Hi, honey." Sully breathed before bringing the pipe down on her once more.

**_Please don't hate me, but you guys DID NOT see that coming, did you? It's OOC, but I promise that next chapter will be awesome as long as I get some comments on this one. ^^_**


	7. Seven Hours

_**I know some of you are a little ticked about what I'm doin here, but please have a little faith in me and everything will be awesome. All I ask is for a little writerly trust and a couple reviews. Is that too much?**_

_**Chapter Seven:**_

"Bones!? Bones?!" Booth's calls echoed throughout the lab. When no reply came, he cursed under his breath. She wasn't picking up her cell phone or replying to the messages he left on it.

It was no use, the lab was dark and no sign of life was in it. He cursed and kicked the nearest object, which happened to be a table. Where she went, he didn't know, and Booth was forced to assume the worst.

As if it were on cue, his cell phone rang it's cheerful ring. His heart was lifted out of it's gloom slightly seeing 'Bones' written across the screen. "Bones, where the hell are you? You gave me an aneurysm."

"Oh, I'm sorry about that Booth. It wasn't my intention." A male voice responded. He knew who it was too, which didn't help.

"Sully, what have you done?" he said with surprising calmness. He didn't think that Sully had the guts to do anything to hurt Brennan.

"Nothing that I didn't have coming to me. She wants to speak to you." he said before he heard Sully whisper, 'you got thirty seconds.'

"Booth!" Brennan shouted breathlessly.

"Bones, where are you?" he asked quickly.

"I don't know. If I don't tell you to back off, he's gonna kill me." she whispered, obviously crying at some point in recent history.

Booth gritted his teeth. For the first time in his life, he wasn't sure how he should handle the situation. "Bones, I'm gonna find you. I love you." he tried to soothe the scientist that was freaking out.

"I love you, t-" the phone disconnected before she could finish her statement of affection.

He didn't even want to _think _about what would happen to her for that little confession. He raced to the F.B.I. Maybe by some miraculous chance he might be able to find the cell phone tower the call was made from.

* * *

Brennan was in, at least in her mind, hell on Earth.

She sat in the corner of a dark, dank room with no windows. The only illumination came from a single light bulb on a wire hanging in the middle of the ceiling. Cigarette cartons and the faint smell of marijuana smoke littered the room. Other than that, there was no furniture of any sort. A relatively warm blanket and a pancake-flat pillow were waiting in the room for her once she'd come to.

After her too-short phone conversation with Booth, Sully punched her out. That was in her car near the heart of town so if Booth managed a trace, they'd be long gone by the time he got there. The next thing she knew, she was in this horrible little room. Brennan had been stripped of everything that could be useful: cell phone, palm pilot, even her belt was gone. Did he think that she'd hang herself from that skimpy little light bulb? It'd snap before it'd provide her with a coward's way out of this.

Brennan knew that Booth wouldn't sleep tonight, or the next night, or the next night if she still wasn't there lying next to him. She believed that he would find her. Some might call the odd sense of trust 'faith'. In the darkness of the room, she had to think if what she had for Booth really was faith. Brennan knew that she loved him, more than she ever thought a person could care for another, but was that worthy of the word 'faith'. She lifted her shirt and looked at the two large, now darkening bruises that formed on her stomach where she'd been beaten with the pipe.

"Yeah," she breathed the horse whimper. "I have faith."

Sully chose this moment to appear from the thick metal door that looked like it belonged in a bomb shelter. However, for all Brennan knew, this could've been one.

"Now, baby, I think you've got something to make up to me."

The tears fell from her eyes like they were as heavy as lead.

* * *

"God damn it!" Booth growled. On top of not being able to find Brennan's cell phone signal, he was now stuck in traffic to the Jeffersonian to inform the squints that Cam's first mate squint was MIA. He also needed the security camera footage that he knew was an easy request.

None of these reasons were why he cursed, though. In his head, all that was playing in his head was his Bones, freezing, alone, and God only knows what Sully was doing to her, feeling like she had when she was a foster kid. It made Booth want to tear apart the steering wheel in his hands.

He finally made it to the Jeffersonian parking lot, not wasting time with walking and sprinted the way through the building to the lab. When he reached the lab and the doors whisked open, he didn't bother going to Autopsy. Also in his rush, Booth didn't swipe his card to the forensic platform, setting off the alarm that had everyone in the lab looking at him with disgusted eyes.

"Booth, don't be in such a hurry, Brennan's not here yet." Cam told the breathless agent.

"I know she's not here. As stupid as it sounds, she's been kidnapped by Sully." Booth tried to regain his breath as the squints all looked at him like he'd grown four more arms.

"You're kidding, right?" Hodgins finally spoke up when Angela's jaw dropped to the floor.

"Cause this is really a time when I wanna kid you, you idiots. I need the security footage from the garage." he turned his attention back to Cam.

"Of course, whatever you need." she replied.

"And Angela, is it possible for you to put a tracer on my phone in case he calls?" he spoke so fast it was slightly unheard.

"Uh…sure Booth, but couldn't you just go to the F.B.I. and they'll do it?" Angela was still in a state of shock.

"Yeah, and then my ass gets loaded down paperwork and I have to go through channels. I don't have that kinda time. You remember Sully, he's a man of action. He has her, he wants her for something." Booth couldn't bring himself to say what he probably wanted his lover for. It was too painful.

Angela didn't pry as she took the Motorola he offered her. "Yeah, it'll be done before you know it."

"No offense, I don't think that's possible right now." he stated truthfully.

All of the squints, even Zack, took a good look at Booth. Even stressed and sleep-deprived, Booth was the embodiment of rage hardly under control. Everyone on that useless elevated piece of lab was thinking the same thing at the exact same moment.

"_Wouldn't wanna be Sully when that guy catches up with him."_

* * *

In less than half an hour, Angela's office had turned into the 'Save Brennan' squad room. Hodgins and Angela hovered over her computer bank, Cam had been going back and forth fetching security disks, and Zack had been on snack patrol since he didn't know what else required his expertise. Booth paced the floor, eagerly waiting any news that anyone had to offer.

"Any luck?" he asked.

"Not since you asked ten seconds ago. Breathe, Booth." Angela said as she typed as rapidly as her slim fingers could manage.

He groaned under his breath and resumed his frantic feet traveling across the too-shiny floor.

They weren't expecting it, so everyone jumped out of their skin. Booth's phone was ringing on the desk. His teeth clenched when he saw the call was coming from Brennan's cell phone. Booth made sure it was on speaker and waited for Angela's cue. When she gave him the right of way, be made the connection.

"Bones?" he asked.

"Wrong answer, Boothy, you're slipping." The taunting voice of Timothy Sullivan filled the room.

"If you so much as place a finger on her, Sullivan…" Booth's voice was filled with venom.

"Oh, you don't have to worry, Booth, I have a few plans in store. I'll give you until seven o'clock tonight. If you're not there, she'll be mine again." he hung up.

Silence was a thick fog in the room. Nobody could find the courage to speak up as Booth nearly crushed his cell phone in his hands. After a full minute, he spoke.

"Please tell me you got a location, Angela?" he practically begged.

Angela looked down, giving him all the answer he needed. "I narrowed it down, but I can't find the exact." she whispered.

"And what have we narrowed down." he asked.

"In DC and somewhere along the Potomac." she replied with more confidence.

"Right now it's noon...I've got seven hours." he grumbled miserably.

Angela felt so bad. She'd never seen Booth so dragged out yet so fury driven. It only proved her point that he did in fact love her. And Brennan would hold out for him because she loved him.

'_Brennan's a fighter. She's not gonna stop.' _She reassured herself silently.

"Alright, let's keep going." she mumbled to her computer.

**_Per my friend Coilerfan35's request, there will be a fight scene ensuing soon. I just refuse to tell you how soon. Please click the green button down there and make my day!_**


	8. Fall For You

_**Disclaimer: This is NOT a songfic, but I swear that this song sounds SO MUCH like Brennan and Booth, I couldn't help but stick it in somewhere. I would also like to thank Coilerfan35 for reassuring me that this isn't cheesy. F.Y.I.: the first part is just a memory.**_

_**Chapter Eight:**_

_Brennan was in her bed, not asleep, but with her eyes closed. She couldn't shake this weird feeling she had in the pit of her stomach. The warm human arm that was wrapped around her helped, but didn't soothe as much as she wished it would. She sighed._

"_Something wrong?" A male voice asked behind her. _

_Brennan jumped slightly and rolled over to face him. "I thought you were asleep." _

"_Obviously. Are you alright?" Booth rubbed his hand up and down her cotton covered back. The thin black tank-top didn't do a whole lot to warm her in the frigid DC winter. _

"_Yeah, I guess I just can't sleep." she replied truthfully. Brennan scooted a little closer to him to feel more of the heat that seemed to roll off of him in waves. _

"_You want me to serenade you?" he said randomly. _

_She turned her head to look at the cocky smile in the darkness, "What?" _

"_You know, sing. As in la la la la la." he sang very off-key._

_Brennan laughed, "That's okay, Booth. I'm fine." _

"_Can I sing anyway?" _

"_Why do you wanna sing so badly?" she asked._

"_No reason, but can I?" It was like a small child asking their mother for candy._

"_Whatever." she said. _

_Booth pulled her closer before whispering, "The best thing about tonight's that were not fighting."_

"_You could say that again." Brennan smiled._

"_I'm sorry, are you the one trying to be romantic here?" Booth replied. _

"_Oh, that's what you were doing? I'm sorry. Please continue." she said nonchalantly._

"_Thank you." he said before continuing. "Could it be that we have been this way before. I know you don't think that I am trying. I know you're wearing thin down to the core." _

"_What song is this?" Brennan asked._

"_It's called 'Fall For You' by Secondhand Serenade. If you would've let me finished, I think you could've deduced that all by your lonesome." he teased. _

"_It's a pretty song." she mumbled. He continued on with the song as she soon drifted back into sleep._

_* * *_

_**4:45 p.m.**_

She remembered the song that Booth ended up singing to her several nights when she was plagued with nightmares from her childhood. Brennan remembered contently falling into the best sleeps of her life listening to Booth's voice quietly singing that cheesy song. She jingled the hand restraints that bound her wrists and really wished for that happy feeling again.

_"Cause tonight will be the night that I will fall for you over again. Don't make me change my mind…or I won't live to see another day, I swear it's true."_ Brennan harshly whispered the chorus that had imbedded itself into her memory, all the while fighting more tears. She felt like a fountain that just kept spurting out water.

_"Because a girl like you is impossible to find,"_ Brennan drew in a ragged breath and sobbed. There wasn't anything she could do now to calm herself except for cry and hope that the well would run dry soon.

The monster seemed to choose this moment to come in and witness the vulnerability that Brennan unwillingly showed. Whereas some psychos might be happy at being feared in such a manner, Sully looked pained.

He crouched down to meet her eyes, "I don't wanna do this to you, Tempe. I just want you to realize that I love you, even after all this time."

Brennan looked up at him for the first time, "This is the way you show you love someone? Shackle them and throw them in a hole in the wall!?" she shouted.

"Baby…"

"Don't call me baby. I'm a full grown woman." Even in her current predicament, Brennan had the strength to anthropologically correct.

"You can't doubt that I care about you." he stated.

"After this incident, I will beg to differ." she rolled her eyes.

"Why can't you just give me a chance? I know you love me if you would just bring yourself to see it."

"No, Sully, I cared about you some time ago. Booth's the only man I've ever loved." Brennan's red-rimmed eyes were furious.

Sully stood and sighed, "Brennan, we both know that's not true. Booth's attracted to you, but he's too big a chicken to say anything to you."

This was going earn her captor a two-handed punch to the jaw, but Sully pinned her arms above her head. "Enough, I've given Booth some time to come and find you. If he's not here by seven…well, let's just say you and I are gonna start making up for lost time."

Brennan's eyes went wild as she kicked him in the one place no man wants to be kicked in. After Sully doubled over in pain, she scrambled to her feet and ran as fast as she could in her bound feet. She had about six inches of chain in between her ankles; about half a usual stride. Her tears blurred her vision as she scooted out of the room, heading any direction that could possibly lead her out of there.

Her freedom was short-lived as Brennan felt two steel probes tear into her back, sending electrical currents down her spine and throughout her body. She screamed in agony and fell forward, hardly able to move.

Sully marched towards her and picked her up. He carried her back to the room she'd been in for more than fourteen hours. But she had one last trick to execute yet. Brennan snuck her hand into the right hand pocket of the jacket that Sully wore to keep the chill of the unheated building out. What she found was both a surprise and a miracle. Her fingers closed around her own cell phone and discreetly tucked it up into her own sweater sleeve.

Sully dumped her against the wall inside the cramped room, "After a little while, you'll start to see what I mean." he whispered.

"_Fat chance, dirtbag." _Brennan thought as she watched him retreat out of the room. When he shut the door, she'd never felt so relieved in all her life. An hour went by as she regained her energy after the literal shock that Sully sent through her.

She turned on her phone and held both hands over the speakers. She didn't want the musical tone to rouse suspicion. Brennan looked up at the fact she had only one tiny little signal bar. Groaning, she propped her back against the wall and used her feet to push herself up to standing position and hobbled around, trying to find a decent signal.

After half an hour, her phone had finally accumulated four bars. Before waiting to waste it, Brennan threw her phone into speed dial one. She waited anxiously, hoping that all her trouble wasn't for nothing.

* * *

_**6:15 p.m. **_

With each passing minute, Booth was getting more tense and angry. Angela had tried everything to narrow down the search grid, but nothing prevailed. He would never admit it, but when Booth took a fifteen minute bathroom break, he let out two big teardrops and prayed that this wasn't the end. There was no way this was the end. It couldn't be.

If Booth had read this right, Sully wouldn't inflict harm on Brennan. As he claimed, he was too in love with her to do anything like that. The alternative scenario only enraged him the more he thought about it. Brennan wasn't the type to just lie down and take a beating. He knew that she would fight until she couldn't anymore. But the image Booth conjured up inside his own head was, to say the least, despicable.

_There is no way that Bones gets raped and no one dies. It's not possible._ he thought.

He returned to Angela's office just as his phone began to ring once again. Feeling defeated at seeing Brennan's name on the caller ID once more, he flipped it open.

"Sullivan, I don't care how much to you try to torment her, she'll never love you. It's that simple." he stated matter-of-factly.

"I agree, Booth." the feminine voice that he'd become so accustomed to replied.

"Bones?!" he was shocked. Booth motioned to Angela to restart the trace, which she did with a smile.

"I managed to steal my phone back, but I know you've got less than an hour…so please hurry." she whimpered. In all his years in the army and the F.B.I., Booth never heard a sound so distressed and depressing as Temperance Brennan begging to be rescued by the only man she'd ever trusted.

"Shh…it's okay. I love you." he mumbled because every squint on the squint squad was in Angela's office.

"I love you too." she breathed.

The adorable moment between the two was short lived when Booth heard a clatter over the phone. It didn't do anything for Booth's nerves that Brennan screamed painfully as the sound of electrical crackling ensued. After that, there was nothing but a dial tone.

Booth looked over at Angela.

"I got it." she grinned.

**_I would REALLY appreciate the reviews on this one. I'm all about the melodrama, so it'd be nice if I knew what I could do to make it better._**


	9. Rescue Me

_**Sorry this was so long coming, but it's winding down to the end and I want to get it just right so I don't disappoint you, my devoted public. Hope you like and happy reading!!**_

_**Chapter Nine: 6:45 p.m.**_

Booth had no idea why all of the squints were now crammed into his SUV as he drove like a madman along the freeway. He'd sent for back up and had his siren blaring at full volume. This roused angry thoughts at why people didn't move out of the way for law enforcement. It seemed to be a theme in D.C. today to see who could cut-off the enraged federal agent first.

Angela, who sat shotgun being as she was of most use, tapped away at the mini-notebook she'd brought. "He's near the National Defense University, where V and Half southwest street meet at the bend. It's a really old office building that's set to be torn down in a few weeks." she said while taking a deep breath.

"Angela, if this works, you can plan on a cute little puppy for your birthday." Booth cracked his first smile today at her as he swerved off the highway.

Hodgins apparently thought _this_ was a good time to chime in with his two cents. "Booth, hey, I know that were going into a potentially life-threatening situation here…"

"No, you can not have a gun, and you're staying out here with Angela to tell the backup where to go whenever they get there." Booth didn't leave room for debate.

"How are we supposed to know where they even are?" Hodgins rebutted.

Angela spoke up, "I brought this camcorder," she gestured to her bag, "that can detect heat emissions. If they're in there, I'll be able to find them easy enough."

Hodgins slouched back, defeated.

"What am I supposed to do then?" Cam asked.

"You…" Booth paused and pulled out the small .22 caliber that he'd give to Bones whenever the situation called for it. He still carried it with him even after she'd gotten her own gun. "…are going to lead the team in when they get here." he handed it back to her.

"What? Why the hell does she get the gun."

"Three reasons, Hodgins." Booth said as he sped down Half Street. "A, Cam was a cop. B, she has prior experience with guns while being a cop. And C, cause I don't trust a squint not to shoot me."

He pulled up to the rickety office building that looked like something straight out of a mobster movie. A few shattered windows here and there, but relatively intact for a condemned building. Booth looked back at Angela, "How much longer do you need?"

All of this was winding right down to the wire, and Booth no longer trusted Sully not to hurt her anymore after the electrocution session he was privy to. The man was going to pay for the last twenty-four hours of unending hell that he'd put Booth through.

"Two minutes," Angela replied.

"I'll start up, call me when you get it." he shouted and hustled into the building.

* * *

_**6:41 p.m.**_

No longer having the will to fight for herself while shackled, Brennan didn't resist as Sully walked her, stun gun placed firmly into her back, down the hallway. She didn't know where he was taking her and was even less inclined to care. Doubting that Angela could even get a _partial _trace on the miniscule phone conversation she'd had with Booth and the one before it, she felt utterly defeated.

Brennan knew what Sully meant when he said that they'd 'make up for lost time'. Right now, it made her want to retch at the simple thought of it. Before Booth, she would've said that monogamy wasn't possible in the human species, and that it wasn't logical that one person could be everything to someone else. All of that went out the metaphorical window when she saw him laying there on the street, bloodied and broken last month. It wasn't rational by any stretch, but Brennan knew that she was in love with Booth, and that she couldn't betray his trust like this.

Sully stopped abruptly at one of the doors that they were passing an pulled out a key. Brennan was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't even hear the tumbler unlock it before it was opened. She felt sick when she saw where he'd ended up taking her.

The abandoned office was bathed in candlelight. Mixtures of red, white, and pink rose petals were sprinkled around the floor as well as the make-shift bed that was in the middle of the room. Pillows were stacked up at least a foot high where a simple red rose rested on top of them.

If Brennan was with a certain, significant other man, she would've thought it was really romantic. Under the current situation, it was just weird.

"This would work a lot better without the restraints. Can you be a good girl?" Sully whispered into her ear, his voice disgustingly thick with inappropriate lust.

She wanted to turn around and spit in his face, but decided another option that could be more beneficial. "I can." she said.

"You what?" Sully asked in shock.

"I can behave myself. I'm starting to see what you mean." It took all of Brennan's willpower not to let her voice falter.

"That's all I ask for." Sully said, thinking he'd just won something and undid the shackles.

Brennan turned to face him. She only hoped her acting skills had improved over the last few years while being partnered with Booth. She gently lifted the taser out of his hand and met his eyes. "I don't think we need this anymore."

Sully looked on in amazement at the transformation into the old Brennan he knew, "I don't think so."

"That's good." she said softly before she jabbed the electric end into his stomach.

He grunted and fell back slightly, but didn't double over like she'd hoped. Brennan threw the insignificant weapon against the wall, shattering it into a hundred pieces. She rather do this with her bare hands, anyway.

Sully held out his hands in self-defense. It was obvious that he didn't want to fight her, but Brennan was passed caring about such weaknesses. She pounced like a lioness, knocking him down to the floor in the hallway and sat on his chest. Putting on just enough weight not crush his rib cage, Brennan proceeded to land several punches to his face.

He apparently decided it was time to man up. Sully rolled them over, stood too fast for her to realize what was happening, and kicked her in the stomach three times. Brennan sprung back up onto her feet and planted a roundhouse kick to the head, then followed through with the other foot pulling at his calf and throwing him off-balance. Brennan placed her bare foot at his throat (he'd taken her shoes earlier) just as she heard another intruder.

Her head whipped around, preparing herself for another fight, when she saw Booth with his gun resting in his hand as he tentatively walked towards her. "Bones? Are you okay?"

What Booth got as a reply was simply an unintelligible moan before she fell backwards. He hardly made it in time to catch her so she wouldn't meet the cold, unforgiving floor. Booth held her as he heard the med-techs and back-up tromp up the stairs, keeping her unconscious form as warm as possible.

**_Well? Good, Bad, Indifferent? Please let me know and the last chapter's gonna come sooner than you think._**


	10. Full Disclosure

_**Well, this looks like it's the final chapter of this series. *sobs in corner* I know, I'm feeling the pain of separation, too. I don't know what I'm going to be writing next, but I hope you stick around me and check it out if you see something new up. I lurve all of you.**_

_**Chapter Ten:**_

It was now Booth's turn to sit in the emergency waiting room. Brennan's signature choke-hold on Sully drained him enough to stop putting up the fight. The local cops arrested him on kidnapping and assault. Sully would get a max of a few years, probably less with parole. Booth thought that appropriate justice would be served by beating him into a catatonic state and then throwing him in the Potomac with a concrete block tied to his feet. But, then again, that was Booth's opinion.

Brennan had passed out in sheer exhaustion before she could complete an act similar to Booth's thoughts. He was slightly surprised that she collapsed as easily as she did. She was awake again before she was even hauled into the ambulance. It didn't do much to calm himself, but Booth knew that she was conscious. That had to mean something good.

"Here, you need this if you don't need sleep." Cam handed an exhausted Booth a cup of coffee. He chuckled humorlessly and took it appreciatively. He was now surrounded by the rest of the Squint Squad minus Zack. He mumbled something about Dr. Brennan wanting him to work and make-up for what she would be lagging behind on. The kid was too much like Brennan for his own good. Hodgins and Angela were in a couple of chairs down the line from him and Cam,

"Angela, did you call Russ?" Booth asked while pressing the coffee cup against his forehead. The heat was a welcome relief to his throbbing brain.

"Yeah, and her dad. They both said they'd be here as soon as they could, but the traffic on the freeway makes it unlikely that they'll come for a bit yet." she said quietly.

One of the doctors appeared from behind the doors. "Mr. Booth?" she said.

"Yeah, that's me." he stated.

"Dr. Jinson." the brunette shook his hand politely and flipped through her clipboard. "Well, Dr. Brennan's back muscles are thrown out of shape pretty bad due to something like a stun gun, I figure. The tension will work itself out naturally after some time. All in all, she's fine medically, and can go home whenever she feels comfortable. Psychologically, I wouldn't know. She's pretty…" the doctor trailed off.

"Rational." Booth finished with a smile.

"Yes, I suppose that would be the correct word for it. She _was_ awake and asking for you, but she looked really beat. She might've nodded off." Dr. Jinson replied.

"Right. Thanks doc."

The doctor smiled and walked away to deliver more news to other loved ones. Booth ran a hand over his hair and looked back at the squints.

Cam was the one to speak up, "Go ahead, we'll come in after awhile."

He nodded, apparently agreeing with her. Booth walked down the asylum-white hallway that he was confined in only a little more than a month ago. It killed a part of him to think that this was where they'd been spending too much as of late. Hopefully, this was the last time, at least for a little while.

Booth opened the door to her room a crack, peeking in to see if she was up. Brennan was in a deep sleep that would've looked comatose if he didn't know her any better. Once Temperance Brennan was asleep, a herd of elephants would be the only thing that could probably wake her. Booth made a mental note to experiment at a later time and place.

She was curled up on her side, her gauze-wrapped wrists lightly over-lapping one another near her head. Booth smiled and gently sat down next to her. He absent-mindedly stroked a curl of hair out of her face. Booth often thought her hair reflected who she really was: a softie. Brennan built those walls of logic and reason around herself to protect herself from the pain she would've felt if she hadn't. He wished there was something he could do to help it, but then he realized he already did.

"_You already love her, she knows that. And she loves you back. That already proves that she cares." _he thought as he continued to play with her hair.

Brennan was brought out of her state of hibernation by familiar fingers twirling her hair into knots. Booth jumped slightly, only succeeding in waking her further.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to do that." he whispered.

She smiled lazily, "Whatever happened to 'hi'?" she asked.

Booth chuckled. "Fine then, hi."

"Hi." she replied.

His hand moved over to stroke her cheek. His touch was so light, he might as well been stroking a butterfly's wing. Booth's voice cracked as he said, "I'm sorry."

Brennan's happy expression turned to one of confusion. "I don't understand. What do you have to be sorry about?"

Booth sighed. "Bones, I promised that I would _never_ let anything like this happen to you…and look at all the mess that's happened now."

She pushed herself up as best she could with her wrists raw from struggling in restraints for the last twenty-four hours. "Booth, you couldn't have known…" Brennan trailed off.

"Still, if I wasn't so impatient with you, then he wouldn't have had the guts or the opportunity to follow through." Booth hung his head in the shame that shouldn't have clouded him.

"Seeley, look me in the eye." she didn't request, but demanded. He complied and she spoke again. "Wasn't it you who told me that everything we never think could happen does, and that we just have to be prepared when it does?"

Booth remembered when he'd told her this. It was just after Sully had left on his boat. He didn't actually think that she'd retained that. Brennan didn't think that it was possible at that point in time. But, then again, it seemed he was always underestimating her these days.

"Yeah, It was."

"And we got out of it, just like every other time we've been kidnapped or tortured or blown up." she smiled lightly, "There's a reason that we _do_ make it out of those predicaments, Booth."

His eyes had brightened slightly, "Yeah? What's the reason?"

Brennan held one of his hands in both of hers, "Because we've never given up on each other, and I don't know about you, but I don't plan to in the near future."

He smirked, "Thanks, I now know I'm safe for awhile at least."

She summoned up the energy to playfully punch him in the arm. The laugh that she was rewarded with told her that she'd surprisingly lifted his spirits.

"And here I thought you weren't a people person." he said.

"I don't have to be a people person to understand you. You're the only one that's ever stuck by me this long, except for Angela." she stated while bringing her arms around to hold herself.

"Hey, that's my job." Booth protested.

"What is?" she asked.

"This." he pulled her into his arms. Brennan never felt so good to have the intimate contact with someone else in her life. The solace she found in Booth's embrace was what she'd needed in that exact moment. Of course, her brain never stopped and gave her a random thought.

"Hey,…you know what I just realized?" Brennan lifted her head to meet his gaze.

"What?" Booth asked, again pushing hair out of her face.

"Everyone that we care about knows about us now." she stated happily.

Booth stopped to think the list through and smirked, "I guess you're right. No more secrets."

"Full disclosure." she restated.

"Full disclosure." he repeated.

They both breathed a sigh of relief and met each other halfway in a passionate kiss.

"_Once we realize there are no secrets, we can open ourselves up to those who care about us. Nothing can glitter, grow, or be completely whole if it's kept in the darkness of one's heart as a secret." _


End file.
